Top Plant Identifying Books
I get asked quite often what my favorite medicinal books are for the Southwest area so I thought I would share them with y’all!
Meet my outdoor herbal guides: Peter, Michael, Gregory, and Charles! They go with my pretty much everywhere! Let me tell you why:
National Audubon society: field guide to the southwestern states- this was my first guide book ever and was recommended to me by my friend Kathy (@ecoexplorersusa). It’s not medicinal or edible focused, but just helpful in gaining confidence with identifying things when out and about. I love how small it is and that it can slip right into whatever backpack I’m using. Besides plants, it also includes local mammals, bugs, birds, etc. When it comes to the plants, it will give you the Latin name, the family, a description, when it blooms, and where it’s habitat and range is.
Michael Moore’s books: medicinal plants of the mountain west and medicinal plants of the desert and canyon west - these are hands down my favorite medicinal plant books. His writing can be super entertaining. Each plant has a botanical picture, the common name, Latin name, other names, description, habitat, when to collect it, how to collect it, medicinal uses, and cultivation. If you’re looking for more information on ethnobotany, folk remedies, or which methods have been used traditionally to process the plants for medicine, these are the books you want. In the back of the books, he provides a Therapuetic and Uses index as well as some really neat formulas.
Sonoran desert food plants: edible uses for the desert’s wild bounty by Charles W Kane - this is a really great sized book with a lot of great edibles of the Sonoran area. Perfect for referencing out in the field. Each plant has the common name, Latin name, range and habitat, edible uses, medicinal, uses, cautions, special notes. As well as color pictures. Again, this is more edible focused, there isn’t very much information on medicinal uses.
Edible and medicinal plants of the west, by Gregory L Tilford- this is my second favorite medicinal plants book. I’ll often times pair this with Michael Moore’s books. I like this one because it has big color pictures. Each plant has the common name, latin name, overall description, habitat and range, edibility, medicinal uses, and look-alike plants. I very much appreciate the last part about look-alike plants, so that you are aware to be extra cautious when foraging. It also has a whole section on toxic plants.
If you are going to purchase any of these books, I strongly suggest checking Thriftbooks or your local bookstore first!
What are your favorite plant books? Let me know, are you more into identifying plants, medicinal uses, or edible uses?